Russia’s Domestic Evolution: What Impact on its Foreign Policy?
Throughout the Ukraine crisis, the West has been surprised at the brutality of Russia's reaction. It has also been surprised by the broad support for Vladimir Putin's policy among the country’s elites and the population at large (88% of whom back the policy), despite the impact of sanctions and countermeasures that are contributing to the deterioration of the country's economy. This level of support cannot be attributed solely to Russia's propaganda machine, though it has been exerting unprecedented influence since early 2014.
Crimea: The Contradictions of Russia’s Line
After denying Russian intervention in Crimea, President Putin ultimately recognized that it indeed happened and then used fallacious arguments to justify it.
German-Russian Relations: Change of Paradigm versus 'Business as Usual'
In 2014, Germany’s relations with Russia markedly deteriorated. The decline was precipitous but it did not occur suddenly. It began some time before Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the Kremlin’s support for separatism and thinly concealed military intervention in eastern Ukraine.
Frontiers New and Old: Russia’s Policy in Central Asia
For much of the post-Soviet period, Central Asia has been a backwater of Russian foreign policy. But things are changing. Circumstances in and beyond the region are driving a more committed approach in Moscow.
The European Union to Ukraine’s Rescue
Recent events have provided the opportunity for the rekindling of relations between Ukraine and the European Union.
Why Russia and the EU Should Cooperate in Ukraine
Ukraine is divided along historical, ideological, economic, religious and linguistic lines, which it has failed to unite in its brief history.
The Russian-Ukrainian Conflict Seen from Kiev
Moscow has every intention of including Ukraine in its Eurasian Union, with one major playing card: the exchange of Kiev’s sovereignty for economic and financial advantages.
Russia's Eastern Direction - Distinguishing the Real from the Virtual
The Asia-Pacific region has assumed primary importance as a center of global politics and economic dynamism. For Moscow, this development highlights a world in which many long-standing assumptions about international politics are being overturned. It speaks of “global power … shifting to the East,” and of Russia becoming involved in the “dynamic integration processes in the ‘new Asia".” But for all the rhetoric about a “turn to the East”, Russia’s commitment to serious engagement with the Asia-Pacific is uncertain. Its elite retains a strongly Western-centric world-view, even as it criticizes Western shortcomings.
Japan-Russia: Toward a Strategic Partnership?
Do the peace talks between Japan and Russia, reopened in March 2013 by Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin, have any chance of success? A window of opportunity has indeed opened for an historic rapprochement between Russia and Japan.
Afghanistan after 2014: The Way Forward for Russia
It may appear that Russia is equally dissatisfied with both Western security’s presence in and its departure from Afghanistan planned for 2014, but whether the Western withdrawal is seen as more of a gain a loss depends on how Moscow itself assesses and balances its own security concerns in the region: instability, extremism and narcotics.
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